Spiritualized to celebrate the 20th anniversary of first-ever acoustic performances with Barbican show

The Acoustic Mainlines show will take place in the Barbican Hall. The original iterations of the show came around the time that the space rock outfit were making their 2008 album Songs in A&E, after singer J Spaceman survived a period of serious illness. They were inspired by band’s appearance at the Barbican’s The Devil and Daniel Johnston tribute concert in 2006, during which Spaceman and Spiritualized guitarist Tony Doggen Foster performed covers of Johnston’s "Devil Town", "Funeral Home" and "True Love Will Find You In The End".

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This time around, Spaceman and Foster will be joined by a string quartet and gospel singers to perform songs from Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized catalogues, as well as various cover versions. “I was underweight and battered and this was a gentle way of getting back on stage. It wasn’t my show for a start, and it was small, and it was beautiful," says Spaceman of the earlier acoustic shows. "Originally, it was just going to be the two of us, but we ended up getting the strings and the choir and because it worked so well, it led to other things.”